Archives for March 2011

In our study of the epistle to the Romans, there is one Scripture that jumped out at me. I hope to make it part of my memory Scriptures. It’s something we all know as believers, but the simplicity of it is quite freeing. The verse is Romans 14:19 — “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification (NIV).”
So I want to encourage you today.
Do What Leads to Peace: What ever you do, make sure it leads to peace. That means what you want is not important. That means you love your brother or sister (who may have offended you) more than you love being right. That means you stop having unrealistic expectations of other people, trying to get them to meet the needs that no one else will be able to BUT God. That means we follow the example of Yeshua — your ministry is always “other-oriented.”

Do What Leads to Mutual Edification: That means if what you say or do does not edify (build up) your brother or sister, don’t do it. Okay, drinking that glass of wine may not be sin for you, but it may be for your brother or sister. So what do you do? Well, Paul in Romans 14 tells us clearly, don’t do it! Yikes! I’ve got my own life to live! Wouldn’t I just be a hypocrite if I drank with other believers and not in front of him/her? Paul says you’re not. He says you are doing the thing that leads to mutual edification! Having a discussion with a brother about whether or not we should drink wine is a nonissue and it is divisive. It leads no where. The bottom line is — don’t try to convince me I’m in bondage if I don’t drink. And I won’t try to convince you of being in sin if you do. I will let the Holy Spirit deal with each of us right where we are. How’s that for following after peace . . . ?

Consider these translations of that same passage of Scripture:
“So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.” (NASB)

“Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.” (KJV)

Forget about deciding what’s right for each other. Here’s what you need to be concerned about: that you don’t get in the way of someone else, making life more difficult than it already is” (vv 13-14 The Message)

This video by Hezekiah Walker & the Love Fellowship Choir just shows how we are inextricably connected!

I need you! You need me! I won’t harm you with words from my mouth. We are a part of the same Body!

Enjoy!

ARVE Error: id and provider shortcodes attributes are mandatory for old shortcodes. It is recommended to switch to new shortcodes that need only url

I heard someone say that when his BACK was AGAINST his Red Sea, he had to do as Moses did.
Consider these steps as revealed in Exodus 14 to find out exactly what Moses did when he and 3 million people found themselves against the Red Sea:

• God told Moses where to camp – between two mountains with the sea in front (Ex. 14:2). You would think God didn’t know geography that well.
• Then the Egyptians pursue and catch up with them right in that obviously vulnerable spot.
• Then the people complain: “You should have left us in Egypt, etc, etc, etc…” (10-12 Look, 3 whole verses of complaints!)
• Then Moses looks to God, telling the people to remain calm. God would fight for them. (13)
• Then God says something that would make my eyes bulge: “Why are you looking at me? Stop crying to me! Tell them to get moving.” (15) Gulp!

Here’s the part that struck me. Their faces were always toward the sea, even in God strategically placing them between the mountains and the sea. That’s how He positioned them, if you will. Although the Egyptians were approaching, the more immediate obstacle was the sea.

Have you ever focused on the wrong obstacle? Ever spent too much energy and emotions on the wrong thing? Did you know that sometimes conquering the more immediate obstacle will be the key to defeating the one that is behind you — the one that seems more intimidating?
So God tells Moses — “Tell them to move forward.” In other words, step INTO THE SEA. They didn’t hear God say that! They heard it from Moses–a man like themselves. So if your back is toward the sea, you’re looking the wrong way. Turn and face the SEA! Face the giant! Face the obstacle! Then move forward . . . undaunted! Feel the dry land under your feet. Open your eyes and see God making a way right in the midst of your trouble! Then watch the other obstacle lose its force and might! Hallelujah!

Let’s wield this amazing power God has given us and cross our seas . . . walking fearlessly into our destinies.

Abba, thank you always! I have run from my obstacles only to run smack dab into another one! Then I have complained to You (probably more than 3 verses full of complaints). But I want to face my obstacles with You — exercising the power You have given to me over them. Today, I choose to step out into my sea . . . I choose to move forward! That enemy behind me will completely fall when I conquer the one in front of me. I exalt you, mighty God. In Yeshua’s Name. Amen!

The Trailer to the movie FACING THE GIANTS is so inspiring! Be inspired  . . . as you face your sea!

ARVE Error: id and provider shortcodes attributes are mandatory for old shortcodes. It is recommended to switch to new shortcodes that need only url

I have been reading THE SHACK. I know, most of you are way ahead of me. You read it last year — right? Okay, two years ago. Well, I just want you to know that it has revolutionized my prayer life.

Here’s the deal: MacKenze, the central character, meets God the Father, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus in a shack. While sitting at meal with them, he proceeds to tell them all about his family — his wife and his children. Then he realizes that he is talking to God who already knows everything he is saying and is about to say. So he says, “Why am I telling you this? You already know it. You’re acting like this is the first time you have heard it.”

This is what God the Father says:
“We are limiting ourselves out of respect for you. We are not bringing to mind, as it were, our knowledge of your children. As we are listening to you, it is as if this is the first time we have known about them, and we take great delight in seeing them through your eyes” (page 106).

Amazing!

Do you know what Mackenzie says, “I like that!” Who could not?

Then I understood the Psalms a little better. I used to wonder why God allowed David to spew out all his venom and hurt and doubt and pain — in the Bible, no less. (Okay, there was a time when I thought I knew better than God. I have confessed that sin many times before.) There is no indication that God chastised David at all. He just let him vent. By the end of his diatribe, David blesses the God of Israel.

Well, God allows him to do it — I believe — because he wants to hear about everything that affected David through David’s own lens. And everytime David spews out his hurt and questions, it is as if God hears it for the first time. Why? Because He loved David! He loves us! He cares for us! He sees his willful limitations and our incessant sharings as us taking advantage of the intimacy that He has provided.

Can you imagine — God limiting Himself just so he could hear — as if for the first time — my heart, my feelings! Prepare, Father, for me to talk your ears off! 🙂

Father, I love you! I believe all your children are echoing that same sentiment. How could we not love you — when we know you? Thanks for not being some distant god and thanks for not being turned off by our tirades! And thank you don’t get tired of hearing from us. Yea, “I like that!”

When I visited my mother in rehab after her hip replacement surgery, I ran into Geraldine, an old childhood friend (really, my sister’s old friend), who was visiting her mother-in-law. Geraldine later wheeled her mother-in-law into my mother’s room.

With body in the grips of old age and her mind being ravaged by time, this 90-year-old woman managed a very infectious smile. She struggled to remember us as her daughter-in-law revealed who we were.

When we told her how great she looked, the woman declared with a great smile, “Ain’t God good?”

• How many times to do you have to say that in life to be able to say it at the end of life? I wondered.
• How connected must one be to eternity in order to proclaim His goodness after three years in nursing home? I mused.
• How deep an intimacy must one have with God to say he is good when your closet relative is a daughter-in-law?

When I left my mother, I saw this woman sitting in her wheelchair in the hallway among other residents, also wizened by time. I waved. She brought an arthritic hand to her mouth and blew me a kiss. “I love you,” she said.
“I love you, too,” I replied.

Such a magnificent reflection of steadfast faith! Faith tried and tested! A life filled with hardships but at the end of the day — the end of life — she can still say, “Ain’t God good!” Marvelous! Let that always be the cry of those of us who love you, Father!

WHETHER PROCLAIMED BY DON MOEN IN A FOLKSY BLUEGRASS STYLE

ARVE Error: id and provider shortcodes attributes are mandatory for old shortcodes. It is recommended to switch to new shortcodes that need only url

OR BY THE SOULFUL DEITRICK HADDON — THE BOTTOM LINE IS . . . “GOD IS GOOD”

ARVE Error: id and provider shortcodes attributes are mandatory for old shortcodes. It is recommended to switch to new shortcodes that need only url